Kin Caldera
Summary The Kin Caldera, Cauldron Kin, Caldronner, or the Kin, are an ancient people long cut off from the main cultures of Cetemar. They survive in the Far North without fire, because of their islands close proximity to active underwater volcanoes. The water next to their villages is balmy to boiling, allowing the Kin to stay perpetually warm. Appearance The few adventurous enough to reach the Kin Caldera lands, describe the people as bronzed, lean to the point of hunger, and short with hair of brown, orange, or waxy blonde. They look like descendants of the Cete whale tribes. However, their dialect is unique, holding some similarity to the language of the lost empire of the Caelum Imperii. Their customs seem to be blended with modern Cete and the old empire. Society Calderan men and women share labor equally. Both build, farm, construct tools, and raise children. Women are generally chiefs; the men, bards. There are many children, and very few elderly. Women are the best fed, because they must bear the children; and are on average stronger than their male peers. Women keep several husbands. Those who provide the most in grain, birds and eggs, receive preferred treatment. They stay in small villages of 30-100 souls, next to the boiling waters. The villages are secured by empty moats blocked by large stones that can open to allow the boiling water in. Other villages are secured by rings of piled rock shards. Dirt fields extend to the edge of the snow line. Each village has a central larder dug away from the coast, packed with ice to store the winter's food. Houses are roofed with sod, dug into the ground deep enough until they reach permafrost. Customs and Tools The Kin Caldera use no fire, and have few metal tools. Most of their implements are made from carved stone, gourd, and bird bones. Some Caldera possess small rafts of pumice thatched together with gourds and reed, surfaced with mud for insulation. These allow them to travel over the boiling water. But the craft are fragile and difficult to maintain with limited materials. Being able to bathe in comfort year round, the Kin are well-groomed (and are often shocked at the stench of visitors). They wear light clothing of bird feathers, down, and grasses. A few women wear leather of unknown provenance. They have no written language, but their oral history is prolific. The Kin make stone sculpture as well as patterned grass weaving, in order to praise their gods and tell their myths. They have a faith system built around Night and Day. According to the Caldera religion the gods of Night and Day fight under the water, boiling it with their exertion (occasional flashes of their weapons clashing can be seen below) Night holds down the Day, trying to drown It forever. But, the God of Day rises victorious for three months. And then the God of Night returns to crush the Day for another nine. Auroras are considered fortuitous, that the armies of Day are on the march, wending their way through the sky. Eruptions of the nearby volcano are considered ominous, that Night is ascendant. Food With the ocean water so hot there are no fish or sea creatures to hunt. The Caldera islands are largely devoid of game as well. The Kin instead live primarily as vegetarians. In the short three-month growing season, the Kin plant squash, potatoes, carrots, berries, and barleys. The most important part of Kin's food-gathering season is the annual arrival of migratory birds; essential for their fat-starved diet. SeasonsCategory:Cultures The Season of Day is the high summer period in the Far North, the most blessed season for the Kin Caldera. The sun shines without setting for weeks on end. Plants grow rapidly in the bright light. Food is abundant. The Caldera are very active, tending their crops at all hours--not wanting to miss a minute of daylight. The Season of Night is entirely different. Weeks go without the sun rising. Because of the Caldera's peculiar climate, winter storms carry cold, torrential rainfall rather than snow. Much of their islands are beset with fog, making any form of travel exceedingly dangerous. Food improperly stored quickly rots. The people sicken in the damp. And, in some years, starvation sets in. A nearby volcano exacerbates the Season even further. Occasional storms drive ash over the Caldera villages, turning the night into a fog of poisonous, acidic rain capable of killing anyone daring to venture outside. Dorment Menjar, Sleeper-Eaters In the depths of the Season of Night, the Kin Caldera do not fear the storms, or even the acid rain. They fear demons, the Dorment Menjar, or "Sleeper-Eaters." The Dormant Menjar come in the night to drag away sleeping Kin and eat them. The Kin have paltry fire from damp grasses, and can't afford to use precious bird fat for their lamps. This leaves the Kin Caldera in perpetual terror of what may lie beyond their homes. The Kin fear anything coming out of the night, especially strangers. They won't even allow a neighbor to enter during the winter. No explorer has ever returned from a visit to the Kin in the Season of Night; thought be lost in the storms, or eaten by the Dorment Menjar. Location The Kin Caldera are found in the far north of Leviatha. The nearest southern nation (the Fellmark) is more than 500 miles away. The Kin are spread between four unnamed islands surrounding a boiling sea. There is a fifth uninhabited island bordering the same sea. It has an active volcano spewing plumes of poisonous gas. Estimated Population The Kin have little arable land, in a severe climate; likely less than 5,000 souls (all human). Known Towns None. Kin Caldera live in isolated villages of fewer than 100 people. Allies None. Foes None. Characters Ata Agg Ata is one of the elder women of the Kin Caldera. She is fat for her people, with many children; hence is well respected. Ata is one of the few Kin to know a language outside of her own--and one of the very few who is friendly to outsiders. She wears a leather girdle and carries a bone cudgel with metal studs (she says is the gift from a long-lost adventurer). Dalig Mat Little Grain is a typical man of the Kin. He is very lean, and looks hungry all the time. His family died when he was a child at the hands of Menjar demons; but Dalig alone survived. Dalig is shrewd and resourceful, scuttling away eggs and grain in secret hides, in hopes of eventually finding a wife. Gammal Juv Old Thief is one of the few of the Caldera to live alone. A ragged, weathered old man, Gammal is aloof and bitter. His fingers were taken for thievery when he was a child. However, Gammal is an Adept. He has nascent summoning abilities; and using his power on ferrets is able to bring enough food within his grasp. Comments "They are friendly enough in the Summer. Never visit in Winter." --Ogbaerr the Half, Trader and Ranger "Do not sleep in the Summer. Work the land hard. Do not stop. For the hungry Night comes, and the lazy will starve."--Vitt Har, Caldera Chief "Out of numberless Kin, we alone survived. The rest perished in the white wastes."--Tal Bra, Caldera Bard